Hull's was ''Old''

• The Virginia and the Monitor, e.g.
• "Old" ship's name
• Old ___ (Boston sight)
• Oliver Cromwell
• English Civil War soldiers
• Armor-plated warships
• Puritans press on the borders
• Cromwell's men

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ironsides \I"ron*sides"\, n. A cuirassier or cuirassiers; also, hardy veteran soldiers; -- applied specifically to Cromwell's cavalry. Old Ironsides . (U. S. Hist.) A nickname for the U.S.S. Constitution, a sailing ship which fought in the American ...